We’ve been fans of the bluegrass stylings of Trampled By Turtles since Ryan first wrote about the Duluth, Minn.-based act all the way back in December of 2009, as they were gearing up to release their “breakthrough” studio album, Palomino. The record debuted at number one on Billboard’s bluegrass charts, and remained in their top ten for well over a year, while also charting not only on the industry reporting rag’s Heatseekers’ chart, but also on their Indie one as well, peaking at number 11 and 46, respectively. That’s quite a feat for any band, let alone one that plays bluegrass music.

The origins of Trampled By Turtles goes back to 2003, when after most of his gear was stolen while playing a gig, Dave Simonett decided to put together a band that could play live with little or no amplification, drawing inspiration from the acoustic traditions of folk and bluegrass music. With a background in the rock , Simonett’s  new band mates were also relative newcomers to the genre, with a fiddle player who logged time as a drummer in a speed metal band and a bassist who came from the jamband world. All those factors helped Trampled By Turtles find their own take on bluegrass that they have fine tuned over the course of nearly a decade. Last week, the five-piece band released their sixth studio album, Stars and Satellites, which features some stunning plaintive ballads that showcase the band’s fantastic vocal harmonies as well as high quality breakneck picking that would have made Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys proud. Let’s check out the music video for the record’s lead single, Alone…

Trampled By Turtles are currently on the road, and will hit the music festival circuit this summer in a major way, making high profile appearances at Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, All Good, Firefly, RockyGrass, Newport Folk and Lollapalooza.

Jeffrey Greenblatt

Jeff joined the Hidden Track team full-time in 2008 and helps guide the site in his role as Managing Editor and Social Media Coordinator. Each week Jeff pens Pullin' 'Tubes, Tour Dates and Bloggy Goodness in addition to features, video posts and more. Jeff is a graduate of The George Washington University ('98), with a B.A. in Journalism, and has worked in the media and technology industry for the likes of Scripps Networks Interactive, MTV, VH1, A&E and Joost.

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